1a. Objectives (from AD-416)
The long-term objective of this project is to develop the economic value of Russian honey bees (RHB) through genetic improvements and devise innovative management strategies to increase the stock’s general and pollination productivity. Over the next five years, we will focus on multiple interrelated projects with the following objectives:
Objective 1: Develop procedures for identification of RHB as a stock certification tool, determine the genetic makeup of feral bees, and identify genes contributing to mite resistance and survivability.
Objective 2: Develop management techniques (e.g., determine economic thresholds for mite treatment, develop cultural techniques for small hive beetle (SHB) management in standard and nucleus colonies, and determine winter management and spring build-up strategies) to build RHB populations for crop pollination (e.g., for almond).
Objective 3: Determine if there are genetic components of RHB response to emerging problems (such as colony collapse disorder or CCD) once syndromes and causes are identified.
Objective 4: Use traditional breeding techniques to develop RHB with improved economic traits.
Objective 5: Develop procedures for routine identification of sex alleles and determine queen relationships in multiple queen colonies.

1b. Approach (from AD-416)
Honey bees play a vital role in the pollination of agricultural crops valued at $14.6B annually. Demands for commercial pollination are steadily growing. However, meeting these demands is increasingly difficult due to serious biological problems. Varroa destructor, Acarapis woodi, Aethina tumida [small hive beetle (SHB)], the emerging problems of colony collapse disorder (CCD) and high winter loss of pollination colonies all are plaguing the beekeeping industry. Perhaps Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) and Nosema ceranae, both recently discovered in the United States will join this list of serious problems.
The Russian honey bees (RHB), developed by this unit, are resistant to varroa and tracheal mites, harbor fewer SHB, are excellent honey producers and overwinter well. This research is focused on further improving RHB to increase the stock’s usefulness, especially for early season pollination via stock selection and the development of management procedures. Increasing the commercial acceptability of this mite-resistant stock may mitigate colony losses since commercial beekeepers who use RHB stock for almond pollination report only modest winter loss of colonies.
Relevance to Action Plan: Marker assisted selection is a tool being developed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This work will be accelerated through additional funding for Russian bees. The problem to be addressed is relevant to the NP 305 Action Plan, Component 2 Bees and Pollination (Honey Bees) Problem Problem Statement 2A.3 Developing and Using New Research Tools: Genomics, Genetics, Physiology, Germplasm Preservation, and Cell Culture.

3. Progress Report
Research and technology transfer related to breeding Russian honey bees has resulted in the complete transfer of all Russian honey bee lines to industry where further selection is underway. Using microsatellite and Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) markers, a combination of marker frequencies was determined to identify Russian honey bees for stock selection programs. This same suite of markers has been used on commercially available production queens from Russian queen breeders. The production queens are genetically Russian. Likewise, feral swarms in an area where Russian apiaries have been kept for several years show that a large proportion of their parentage is Russian. Although Russian honey bee colonies tend to carry maturing queen cells much of the time, their workers have only a few poorly developed ovaries, which is a condition typical of northern European honey bees.
Management research on Russian honey bees has determined that Russian colonies will grow larger in 8-frame hives that are fed a continual supply of a patty that is made of protein supplement and natural pollen along with a source of sugar syrup. Longevity of worker bees from individual colonies produced in the autumn is correlated to the survival of workers in winter clusters. However, this correlation was not found with worker bees caged from the colonies in the spring.
Varroa mites that are released from cells they are infecting because of honey bee hygienic behavior are in a state of asynchronous development with other potential honey bee brood at the time of release. This asynchrony causes the mites to be infertile should they re-invade the brood. Auto- and allo-grooming against varroa mites results in many mites falling to the bottom of the hive that do not have apparent physical damage. Hence, assessments of grooming behavior must be refined to accommodate this observation. An improved method for marking varroa mites for capture/recapture studies was developed.
Small hive beetle (SHB) studies indicate that white external SHB traps placed at the height of the hive entrances collect the most beetles. Of several lures for SHB traps tested, the yeast dough enriched with slow release ethanol proved to be the best. A method of thoracic notching was developed to mark SHB for capture/recapture studies.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) research has shown that Russian and Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) varroa mite resistant colonies survived better than untreated Italian colonies in the first year of a mid-western to California pollination trial. Overall, the mite resistant stocks were better pollinators than the control stock. Molecular genetic methods have been developed to detect and quantify Nosema ceranae infections. Patrilines of Russian honey bee colonies have variance in response to Nosema (N.) ceranae although Italian colonies do not. This indicates that the potential for breeding bees that have improved resistance to N. ceranae is greater for Russian honey bees. Feeding pollen or protein substitute to honey bee colonies through the winter increases the levels of infection of colonies by N. ceranae.